From Roman shoes and combs found at nearby Margidunum to everyday medieval cooking and storage pots found at sites across the county, the Museum focuses on objects that would be used every day by ordinary people.

“The objects have been used to provide a wide variety of information,” said Museum Curator Clare Pickersgill. “For example, Roman coins have been used to illustrate changing fashions in hairstyles. The Romans themselves would use the coins in the same way. Whether you were living near Hadrian's Wall in the north of England, or in Alexandria in the north of Egypt, you would look at a coin to see the latest hair fashion from Rome — and copy it.”

Clare has been working with the University's archaeological collections for two years now, developing and expanding the Museum. She has been working with regional schools, working with primary, secondary and sixth form, continuing education and university students and teachers. As well as developing a travelling exhibition, Everyday Life in Roman Margidunum, the project will see archaeology students from the University going into schools — giving them the opportunity to demonstrate their understanding of the knowledge while getting valuable experience of working with the public.

Along with educational projects Clare is also developing an outreach programme. And a volunteer programme is also set to be launched, bringing students and community volunteers together. This will focus on how the collections are catalogued and stored.

“I feel very strongly that the Museum should undertake work with a variety of groups especially those with which museums do not commonly work,” Clare said. “By doing this it can really become a community Museum.

“There is, however, a lot more work to do. Along with continuing to expand the education and outreach activities I’ll be developing a programme of temporary exhibitions. The research and publication of the collections we have is also being developed further.”

The Museum also links up with national events, like the Festival of British Archaeology and Heritage Open Day, giving members of the public the chance to handle the collections. Following the University's Day of Exploration last year, the Museum was shortlisted for best event in the 2009 Nottinghamshire Renaissance Heritage Awards.

The Museum is open to the public from 10am to 4pm, Monday to Friday. Admission is free. Visit www.nottingham.ac.uk/museum for more info.

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Notes to editors: The University of Nottingham is ranked in the UK's Top 10 and the World's Top 100 universities by the Shanghai Jiao Tong (SJTU) and Times Higher (THE) World University Rankings.

More than 90 per cent of research at The University of Nottingham is of international quality, according to RAE 2008, with almost 60 per cent of all research defined as ‘world-leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’. Research Fortnight analysis of RAE 2008 ranks the University 7th in the UK by research power. In 27 subject areas, the University features in the UK Top Ten, with 14 of those in the Top Five.

The University provides innovative and top quality teaching, undertakes world-changing research, and attracts talented staff and students from 150 nations. Described by The Times as Britain's “only truly global university”, it has invested continuously in award-winning campuses in the United Kingdom, China and Malaysia. Twice since 2003 its research and teaching academics have won Nobel Prizes. The University has won the Queen's Award for Enterprise in both 2006 (International Trade) and 2007 (Innovation — School of Pharmacy), and was named ‘Entrepreneurial University of the Year’ at the Times Higher Education Awards 2008.

Nottingham was designated as a Science City in 2005 in recognition of its rich scientific heritage, industrial base and role as a leading research centre. Nottingham has since embarked on a wide range of business, property, knowledge transfer and educational initiatives (www.science-city.co.uk) in order to build on its growing reputation as an international centre of scientific excellence. The University of Nottingham is a partner in Nottingham: the Science City.